Poverty as a practice issue for learning disability nurses.

Abstract

People who have a learning disability are vulnerable to poverty. Given that poverty has a negative impact on mental and physical health, this should be an area of concern for learning disability nurses. Historically, however, this is an area of practice which has not received much attention. It is important that learning disability nurses are aware of the impact which poverty can have on the lives of their clients and that they incorporate this understanding into their practice. Interventions which can be implemented at the level of individual clients, groups and society to tackle poverty and its effects are proposed. It is concluded that, at present, little is known about the extent to which such a perspective underpins practice or about the extent to which poverty is addressed in pre- and post- registration educational courses. The need for further research and development is noted.